The 93-square-kilometre (36 sq mi) municipality is the 332nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Sande Municipality is the 261st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,438. The municipality's population density is 26.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (68/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 7.5% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
Sandsøy and Voksa islandsSandshavn harbour (c. 1905)
Sande was established as a municipality on 1 January 1867 when it was separated from the large Herøy Municipality. The initial population was 2,493. On 1 January 1873, a part of eastern Sande Municipality (with 362 residents) was transferred back to Herøy Municipality. On 1 January 1889, the Eksund area and the island of Ekø (population: 119) were transferred to Herøy Municipality.[7]
On 1 January 1905, the eastern district of Sande Municipality was separated to form the new Rovde Municipality. This left Sande Municipality with 2,221 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the northern part of Rovde Municipality (population: 562) plus three farms in the Gurskedalen valley (population: 25) were merged back with Sande Municipality (the southern part of Rovde was merged with Vanylven Municipality). The new Sande Municipality had a population of 3,465. On 1 January 2002, the Åram area (population: 380) on the mainland was transferred from Sande Municipality to Vanylven Municipality.[7][8]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Sande farm (Old Norse: Sandr) since the first Sande Church was built there. The name comes from the word sandr which means "sand" or "sandy beach". Before 1892, the name was written Sandø.[9]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 23 October 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a line buoy argent" (Norwegian: På blå grunn ei sølv linebøye). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a line buoy. The line buoy has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea. This symbol was chosen since it was historically used by fishermen in ocean and fjords around the island municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth who based it off an idea from Helge Kragseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[10][11][12]
Sande is composed of many islands including Sandsøya, Kvamsøya, Voksa, Riste, and part of Gurskøya (which is shared with neighboring Herøy). The highest point in the municipality is the 659.83-metre (2,164.8 ft) tall mountain Sollia which is located on the island of Gurskøya, along the border with Herøy Municipality.[1] The island municipality sits north of the Rovdefjorden and east of the Vanylvsfjorden. The Haugsholmen Lighthouse sits in the southwest part of the municipality.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sande is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Sande Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:[33]
^"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 23 October 1987. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
^Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
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